Showcard Press - sharing information
So I brought the showcard press home on Saturday and was surprisingly pleased to see what a find it truly was! After relentless searching the internet for information about these little flatbed presses without any luck I decided to jump in blindly.
Being at work I will just recap some of the highlights of the press until I can post a good photo and a link to close ups.
From what I know this press was used in a larger Sears or Montgomery Wards on the east coast. It is one of the larger Showcard presses I have seen. While you might consider it a table top model it is larger than the what I expected. The bed is scribed and numbered in 1 inch increments. With a total area of around 22 x 28 on the bed itself.
The roller is large and had an adjusting screw that gives you about 1/2 inch of adjustability. From type high to a 3/4 lino block is just the spin of a knob. The bearings underneath are large and have little to no slop as it rolls back and fourth. It also has a throw out of sorts that lifts the roller off of the paper so you do not get a double impression on the return trip.
One of the most difficult problems with a press of this nature is its ability to grip the paper to adjust registration. This press has a very effective paper gripper that is hooked to a bar on the base. If I get my form locked up and leveled every time I should not have a problem with the registration of 2 or 3 color art. This is very exciting to me because I can not yet afford a Vandercook and if I could I have no space to put it in without MAJOR reorganizing.
The showcard does pose some issues with traditional lock up but after testing this weekend I found that it requires fairly little pressure to hold in large lino cuts. I also have some large chases that I picked up a few years ago that have straight edges with no bevel. I can easily use these for text lock up and then place them on the press in the chase and lock that in to the form.
As to my question I posed earlier to the forum about needing a press blanket like an etching press would use I now know that I do not. Although I just might put a piece of packing over the paper if the impression is not doing what I would like on some projects.
The previous owner had some documentation that I will be putting on my website if she ever finds it that is supposed to give all of the technical data on this press.
The table that the press sits on has an inking plate attached to one end which makes it extremely convenient. I an going to time a few short runs on a 18 x 24 poster project to see if it will be economical to use the press to do band posters and other job work or if it will end up just being used to my in-house projects. Inking the form by hand will slow me down considerably.
The press also came with a small drying unit. 120Volt. I don’t know what use it will be but for the 1 off jobs that the department store did it would save them a boatload of drying time.
See it here. http://www.itsfancy.com/showcard
Last month I acquired a press which looks almost identical to yours, made by the Showcard Machine Co. Like you, I scoured the net for information but came up empty. Mine is in beautiful shape and I’m almost embarrassed to say what I paid for it… $80. It will print up to 30x45 inches and is absurdly heavy - in the neighborhood of 700-800 pounds. I spent a weekend mounting heavy duty casters under it so it can be wheeled out of the way and I can get the car in the garage again.
Mine was purchased new in 1978 and used to print signs at Purdue University until about a year ago, when everything went digital/inkjet. I plan to use it for large linocut/woodcut work. Test impressions have given good results using nothing more than 4-5 sheets of newsprint as a “blanket”.
I’d love to see any documentation that you locate for yours, especially a parts diagram.
In the late 1980’s, as computers were just starting to replace everything else here in Maine, I bought all the Showcard stuff that came up for sale in my area. I have 5 machines and about 30 fonts of Showcard type from 24 point to 7 inch. My largest model is the 22” X 28”. It has the factory stand and revolving ink plate with tripple inking rollers. I’ve never used the inking system because I never wanted to clean up that much ink. I have some Showcard catalogs and none of them have a parts breakdown. I don’t think the comapny ever thought you’d need parts. They are built like a rock. Also, to help you folks feel good about your purchase; I paid $1000.00 for mine at auction back in 1988.
Mike - wow that is a big Showcard! I thought mine was large! Do you have a pic? That would be great for large wood and lino cuts!
musikwerke - you don’t have a way of scanning the pages of one of the catalogs and emailing them to me do you? Also I would love to see this inking plate and rollers! Can you take a pic for me? I am very envious that you have them and never use them!
It’s Fancy - I do have a scanner and I’ll try to get a picture for you also. And for more about the inking system; the company that originally owned my machine paid over $300.00 for new rubber rollers just before they sold it. And that was in 1988 dollars. They’ve never seen ink or daylight. It should be in the hands of someone who would really use it but it seems that serious letterpress people that do large format work are anywhere but in Maine. Impressive website by the way. I envy you in that respect.
I put up a quick page for the press images I took right after I unloaded her. I have new ones with the press cleaned up that I will add to the page in the next few days. Hopefully I will find time to do a real web page for it.
http://itsfancy.com/showcard
Pulled a few prints on my press from a lino cut last night.
http://itsfancy.com/pressing_news/?p=20
I decided to jump right in with a 19” x 24” poster. It took alot of ink and I did not use and drier for the prints so the ink still offsets a bit. But overall it will be really fun!
cody
I am at a similar point , having acquired a Showcard press about two months ago. I have been carving a 18 x 24 woodblock and am days away from trying to pull my first proof. Mine is a 22 x 28 complete with a large inking surface. I would be very interested to see what material, if any, you turn up on this piece of equipment and what kind of prints you create with it. Later-kb
i was searching out info for my showcard presses back in 2002:
http://www.voy.com/32955/367.html, and, frustratingly, there was no info on these presses on briarpress at the time. NA Graphics had no info either, but it seemed like everybody and his mom had one. Seriously, they are everywhere- at schools, universities, old attics and garages all over the place. But, it seems like there is hardly any info or parts to be found.
In 2002, I specifically wanted to buy or recreate the inking mechanism/roller carriage because both of mine are the type with the spinning inking discs, but neither came with the rollers. It seemed like I’d have to fabricate my own, and it got put on a back burner. I would still love to get my hands on a set, because, as everyone knows, it does take quite a bit of time to hand ink a bunch of posters on these things (some or the posters here were printed on showcards: http://www.hotironpress.com/postersandflyers.htm). Our presses were flooded in Katrina a couple years ago and we had to sandblast them. Now the inking slabs don’t turn anymore, and they are quite a challenge to take apart- four of us pulling things apart here and there could never manage it. So, I’ve all but given up my dream of getting them fully functional with the inking mechanism again, but I would still very much love to find type rails and springs that fit my presses. That, and showcard type too.
As far as locking in our forms, we’ve had a lot of success using magnets. We have a few tall and thin showcard magnets that, when placed perpendicular to a piece of furniture, hold well for any number of pulls. Plus, because of the ruled grid on the bed, it’s easy to see if anything crawls over time.
One of our presses has a printing area of up to 14.5” x 44.5” (and is considered a “banner” model), the other has a printing area of up to 22.5” x 28”. I was able to track down some info from the manufacturer from another showcard press owner, but they were only diagrams of the most rudimentary instructions on how to squeeze ink from a tube, ink the type and put the paper in, etc., for non-printmakers.
So yeah, if anyone has 22.5” or 14.5” rails they don’t need, and clip springs too, let me know! If anyone knows how to unseat the bearings from underneath the ink well and detach the wheel, let me know that too. If anyone has a roller carriage they don’t want that fits either of these widths, let’s make a deal!
good luck all!
Hello Its Fancy,
I will be getting my very own Showcard this Friday and am in much the same boat. Would love a Vandercook, but finances and space kind of prohibit it at the meoment. Thanks for your info and photos - if you are able to scan your documentation could you send it my as well?
Next week I will be the proud owner of a printing press, finally. It is a Showcard, patent # 1910986. I am unsure of the actual printing area. However the full press length itself is iron cast 69” x 25 13/16”. It has one drum for printing and two smaller drums for inking (which are no longer there, the area to mount them is). There is a circular metal inking space on one half of the press and the printing area is on the other half. It used to have a foot pedal but no longer I am told. It rests on a stand 50 1/2” x 24 5/8”. I will be moving it next week and I am trying to get any information I can find about it. I am looking for instructions, the weight estimate (iron cast, looks heavy), any information about replacement parts and where to order ect. It is a beautiful press that needs a little clean-up. For the perfect price ($0), I had to grab it. I am incredibly excited and feel so proud knowing that it was about to be scrap metal. I have a picture I can post as well if that would help make it easier, just let me know. I am completely new at letterpress and I would be using it for woodcut, monoprint, and etching. So if anyone would be so kind and help with any information, I would be much obliged.
I also am joining the club of showcard press owners. Mine is a Showcard Machine Company made in Chicago model DFS 520. It also has 30 x 45 bed. I would appreciate any documentation you may have as well. I do not have much in the line of spacers etc and am looking for a quoin key. I have used the press a little so far and primarily for embossing with mixed media prints. I got it on ebay but fortunately was able to pick it up it was only about 400 miles away from our home. 75 bucks! Is there a way to tell when it was made?
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